I have reviewed a number of beading software (apps) over the years.  Some are free and often bug ridden. Some are powerful and complex - perhaps too complex for many beaders' needs - sometimes not easy to navigate and cost.

I first stumbled on Beadographer on Facebook and was suitably impressed. It is a brand new app with a lot going for it.  I can see it growing with time. Much thought has gone into this app making it a beader's joy.  Simple to use with clean looks.  

It's clearly a beading program designed by beaders for beaders. I recommend you watch the short videos below which illustrate how it is used. 

Right now it caters for round, cylinder and fusible beads with more selections possible in the future.  The seed bead libraries are from Miyuki and Toho. Those for fusible beads are from the brands Artkal, Hama and Perler. 

Beadographer is currently designed for computers (desktop or laptop) using either the Firefox or Chrome browsers,  not mobile devices. But I suspect they will go on to develop the mobile version depending on demand.  You can even contact them for feature requests. 

You can use Beadographer for free or join their membership for just $6.99 a year !! I joined!  This is such a wonderful help for those of us on tight budgets and the fee will support future development and improvements.  

Here are the differences :


You first join as a member. The confirmation email will have an initial password. Once logged in, you can change the password and complete the Paypal payment. 

Note :  I have no association with the creators, a husband and wife beading team from Connecticut, USA.  Will Minter writes the program while Leah Russell runs the website and their social media.  I just think their program is great and I hope to use it myself to design either loom work or small earring projects. 



The following three tutorials showcases on how to the software. All of this is also in their Guide. 

Tutorial 1 covers all the basics and should be watched first. The explanations are clear and easy to understand.  

The menu selections are explained including how to add color palettes and integrate bead libraries (actual bead colors you buy), how to copy repeating patterns and so on. Changing colors is a breeze especially if you want different color combinations of the same pattern!  The online ruler is included so you can follow your own chart as you bead.


Tutorial 2 covers working with uploaded images and converting it to a beaded image. The first method involves making the image much lighter and bead colors can be assigned using the tracing technique. The second method imports the image and you can control the number of bead colors and bead libraries you want to use.  Beadographer even calculates the number of beads you need for a project and numbers the chart so you don't get confused with colors that are close in hue. 

You will have to play around with either method to get the design to the way you like it. 


Tutorial 3  goes over the use of the mirror and cloning tools to generate patterns quickly. 


Before You Go:
Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM